A regulation requiring hospital inpatient rooms to be operated separately by gender is set to be abolished.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced Tuesday that it has issued advance legislative notice of a partial amendment to the enforcement rules of the Medical Service Act containing these provisions, and will receive opinions until July 6.
The core of the amendment is the revision of standards for operating hospital inpatient rooms. The current enforcement rules stipulate, as an operating standard that founders of medical institutions must follow, that "inpatient rooms shall be operated separately by gender." The ministry decided to push for the deletion of the provision, viewing it as something that could make bed operations rigid.
In practice, concerns have been raised about difficulties in assigning rooms in cases such as when married couples or immediate family members are hospitalized together, when caregiver or family nursing is needed, or when child patients are admitted.
However, the amendment does not mandate that male and female patients be assigned to the same room. The intent is to remove the uniform legal obligation to separate by gender, and to allow hospitals to operate autonomously, taking into account patient safety, privacy protection, and bed availability.
The ministry plans to finalize the amendment after gathering opinions from the public and related organizations during the advance legislative notice period. Once the amendment is finalized, the regulation will take effect from the date of its promulgation.
